The eighth-grader's contingent confirmed by satellite phone on Saturday (Himalayan time) that his climbing group, which included his father, Paul, and three Sherpa guides, had reached the 29,035-foot summit. Previously the youngest climber to scale Mt. Everest had been Nepal's Temba Tsheri, who accomplished the feat on May 23, 2001, at the age of 16 years and 14 days.

Romero's group climbed the northern route out of Tibet. They still have to make the trek down the mountain, which is a perilous route that claims the lives of climbers each year.

"Their dreams have now come true. Everyone sounded unbelievably happy," a new
statement on Jordan's blog said late Friday, Pacific time.

Before he was about to make the ascent, he wrote on his blog: "Every step I take is finally toward the biggest goal of my life, to stand on
top of the world."

Romero's accomplishment finishes his quest to climb seven of the tallest mountains on each of the continents around the world. His other climbs were: Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa) on July 22, 2006; Mt. Kosciuszko (Australia) on April, 2007; Mt. Elbrus (Europe) on July 11, 2007; Mt. Aconcagua (South America) on Dec. 30, 2007; Mt. Denali (North American) on June 18, 2008; and Carstensz Pyramid (Oceana) on Sept. 1, 2009.

--Dan Loumena

Photo: Jordan Romero leaves a hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal, on April 11 during his preparation to climb Mt. Everest.